Now, while you can't do much to change the data companies can gather regarding your online spending habits or the information gleaned from your browsing history, you absolutely can control how you present yourself to the digital world via social media branding.

By taking control of your personal brand, you ensure that people see what you want them to when they Google you.

The right personal branding can help your career by helping you to establish yourself as an expert in your field, a thought leader, or an influencer.

When there's a promotion on the cards or when you're actively seeking a new role, employers are likely to Google you, and if you've taken control of your personal brand, you'll dazzle them with your professionalism and your position as an authority in your niche.

Now, the question is: what do you want to be known for?

When it comes to personal branding on social media, you need to ask yourself the following questions: what is your ideal career, and are you hoping to move toward it? These are important questions, as without clear goals, you'll never achieve branding success, as your posts will be too scattered to be useful or influential.

For example, if your long-term goal is to work as a senior digital marketer at a big brand, it's important that you join and participate in industry-related conversations and network with other influencers in this space.

Step 2: Audit Your Current Personal Branding

Clear all your browsing history or open a private/incognito window, then Google your name.

Why clear browsing data or use a private window, you may ask? Because that ensures the search results are unbiased and that you are seeing the same results as a potential employer or random Joe Bloggs. What position are you at in the search results? Who else is on that page?

Think about how you can stand out from the rest of the entries. Repeat the process with your name and a keyword or key phrase from your goals or the industry you want to stand out in.

Step 3: Get Set for Success

Once you've got your goals and you know what competition you have, it's time to get yourself set up right.

Establish accounts on all platforms that you're interested in and where your target audience hangs out.

Don't forgetLinkedIn for personal brandingand Pinterest, too, as these are often overlooked, but a great source of engagement. Make sure your profiles are consistent and use the same handle, photo, bio, and links.

Do you have a website already? If so, great, you've got somewhere else to establish your brand and host your online profile and to contain all your thought-provoking blog posts. If not, it may be worth getting one.

Alternatively, if you don't want to have to maintain a website, publish thought-leading content on LinkedIn or a site like Medium.

Remember, businesses need to provide high-value social content, and so do you. When it comes to personal branding, you are your business.

Step 5: Stick With It

Setting up your personal brand and becoming an industry influencer isn't instant - it takes time to gather lots of followers and to be seen as a thought leader. But stick with it. Stick to your strategy and post regularly.

To make things super easy, you can even use an auto-scheduler that you can load up with posts, and it will post them for you at specified times, so you can plan ahead.

Bonus: Personal Branding Do's and Don'ts

Personal Branding Do's

Set clear goals

Be consistent when sharing content

Build an authentic personal brand

Become an industry expert

Share industry-related content but also more personal stuff. People want to know who YOU are

Join LinkedIn groups related to your expertise

Choose social channels that are relevant to your goals

Market your personality

Share visual content: videos, infographics, or images

Ask your followers for their opinions on specific topics

Try to be in your followers' shoes: ask yourself what content they'd like to interact with

Keep networking

Personal Branding Don'ts

Don't focus only on your product

Don't focus on the amount of followers you get. Instead, make sure that your posts drive engagement

Don't overshare, personal branding is NOT about spamming your networks!

If you use someone else's content, don't forget to mention the source!

Don't copy/paste content you find on the Internet. Instead, create your own content

Don't post rude comments. You don't have to agree with everyone on everything. But keep in mind that there's a way to tell that you don't agree with someone.

Don't overthink it!

Conclusion

Let your personality shine through, but do remember that potential employers will see this, so don't post anything you're not totally happy with potentially important connections seeing.

When it comes to personal branding, stay positive, be authentic, and lift other people up. Share their content, engage with them, and interact whenever possible. In no time, you'll have a personal brand to be proud of!

Did you know that personal branding can help you build an effective social selling strategy? Check out our free eBook below: